“Now when Jesus came into the parts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that the Son of man is? And they said, Some _say_ John the Baptist; some, Elijah: and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But who say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then charged he the disciples that they should tell no man that he was the Christ.”(247) The doctrinal and ecclesiastical bearings of this passage are beyond my scope, they have been fully treated over and over again; but one point belongs to my special province—Peter’s knowledge had not come from anything he had been told. Our Lord had not breathed it to him, but it had grown up in him as great truths have grown up in prophetic souls by the prompting of God. This is the true inspiration of God; He whispers thoughts into the hearts of men, some nurse them and bring them to maturity, with others they take no hold. Blessed are those with whom they rest. Our Lord had said in the synagogue at Capernaum “No man can come to me, except the Father which sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day.”(248) Peter had been drawn towards Him in this way. Another point is to be noted. Henceforth the Apostles had a secret—they were to “tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.” So long as the belief in our Lord as the Messiah was only a surmise, growing in Peter’s mind more and more into positive shape, he was not lifted up by it; but now he had become, as he thought, a species of chief minister, and he looked to the declaration of an earthly kingdom; so that when, immediately after the promise of power, our Lord speaks of sufferings and death, Peter replies, “These things be far from thee.” He never doubts but that our Lord would use His powers in self-defence. He looks on His words only as evil boding, and it strikes him that it is impolitic to utter them, because they will confuse and dishearten both the disciples and the Twelve. This remonstrance of Peter’s drew from our Lord the first stern words which an Apostle had received from His lips, and very stern they were. “But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art a stumblingblock unto me: for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men.”(249)